The Miami Hurricanes are considering a move from independent status to the Atlantic 10 Conference in basketball when Penn State joins the Big 10, an athletic official said. "We have had some discussions with the Atlantic 10," Miami Associate Athletic Director Larry Wall told the Dominion Post of Morgantown in today's editions. "That's about where it is right now: discussions.

The Big Ten or the Big Twelve? West Virginia has talked with conference officials about joining the Big Ten, should it decide to expand its membership, according to Mountaineer Athletic Director Ed Pastilong. The Big Ten presidents have already invited Penn State to join, although that situation reportedly has grown shaky because of opposition from some members. Still, there has been speculation that if Penn State gets in, the conference will add a 12th member.

Ivory Latta scored 26 points and Camille Little had seven of her 16 in an early second-half run Friday night as No. 3 North Carolina broke open a close game and coasted to an 84-75 victory over Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Va. Latta made four three-point baskets and had five assists for the Tar Heels, who improved to 24-1 overall and 11-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Erlana Larkins scored 17 points for North Carolina. Dawn Chriss led Virginia Tech (17-7, 4-7) with 18 points. No.

USC senior forward Nick Curtis sat out practice Thursday because of a sprained right ankle. Trojan Coach Henry Bibby said Curtis, who had 12 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of USC's 94-56 defeat of The Master's College in the Trojans' final exhibition game last week, was questionable to play in their regular-season opener Monday against UC Irvine at the Sports Arena.

Long Beach State will play host to George Washington tonight at 7:30, and USC will play at Stanford at 7 in second-round matches of the NCAA women's volleyball tournament. The 49ers (27-2) were top-seeded in the Northwest Region and received a first-round bye. Long Beach is led by Danielle Scott, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker who was voted Big West Conference player of the year for the second consecutive season.

A Hennepin County (Minn.) judge has ruled the University of Minnesota's lawsuit against former basketball coach Clem Haskins will move forward despite objections from Haskins' attorney. Minneapolis attorney Ronald Meshbesher filed a motion Wednesday asking to delay indefinitely the university's lawsuit against Haskins, which seeks the return of most of the $1.5 million it paid the former coach when he agreed to resign in June 1999.

When: 4. Where: Galen Center. On the air: TV, Pac-12 Network; Radio: 710. Records: Dayton 9-3, USC 4-8. Update: The Flyers, of the Atlantic 10 Conference, have won eight of their last 10 games and are led by Cousy Award watch list selection Kevin Dillard. The 6-foot senior guard is averaging 15.3 points and 4.6 assists a game. The Flyers, coached by Archie Miller, make 37% of their three-point shots. The Trojans have lost seven of their last eight games, including a 64-56 loss at Georgia in their last game.

It wasn't all that long ago that Duquesne University's tradition-laden Dukes were among college basketball's blueblooded royalty, a rich motherlode of great coaches and players that made them one of the Top 10 winningest teams in the sport's history. While Duquesne was playing in 15 National Invitation Tournaments and four NCAAs and was producing the NBA's first black player, Chuck Cooper, intracity rival Pitt was struggling to fill more than 1,000 seats in its deteriorating fieldhouse.

Four Grambling football players were suspended from the team Wednesday pending an investigation into an accusation that they and a fifth student raped a 14-year-old girl on Saturday night. The men were arrested Tuesday and each was charged with one count of forcible rape and one count of aggravated oral sexual battery. All five were being held at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center in Ruston, La., on Wednesday with bond set at $50,000 each.